Veterinary Clinical Medicine-I (General and Systemic)

ACOUSTIC AND PAIN PERCUSSION OF ORGANS

Rumen

• Ruminal atony: Resonant sound in upper one third and dull sound in two-third of left side of abdomen.
• Left abomasal displacement: Metallic sound especially in the middle third of left abdomen is obliquely oval zone, if you percuss on imaginary line drawn from left paralumber fossa to the left elow
• Bloat: Drum like sound in the hollow of left paralumbar fossa.
• Pain percussion is carried with a fairly heavy pain percussion hammer over rumen area. In cases of rumenitis and large abscess of rumen, animal will evince pain during pain percussion.

Reticulum

• The reticulum lies in the cranial region of the abdominal cavity, slightly left of the midline, opposite the 6^th to 8^th ribs.
• In an animal standing normally, this area can e indicated by placing the hand on the abdomen immediately caudal to the point of the left elbow. The area behind the lower lung field at the level of the 6^th to 8^th rib in left side is to be percussed.
• Acoustic percussion of reticulum reveals an extensively damped sound on the left side behind the lower lung field at the level of the 6^th to 8^th ribs.
• Complete dullness in this region points to extensive thick adhesion, a large abscess (or) tumor (or) impaction of the reticulum with sand.
• An excessively loud sound (box sound) may be heard between the reticulum and rumen in patients with recent foreign body penetration.